Museum of Brands, London, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Museum of Brands is a small museum on Lancaster Road in Notting Hill, London, that traces more than a century of British consumer life through packaging, advertising and everyday objects. It matters because it shows how ordinary things like tins, boxes, bottles and toys changed alongside the society that bought them.

The story behind it

The museum grew out of the collection of Robert Opie, who began saving packaging and ephemera as a young man, long before anyone thought of it as history. Over the years the collection became a record of how Britain shopped, ate, played and responded to advertising. It was shown to the public as a museum devoted to brands, packaging and advertising, and today it sits in Notting Hill, just off the Portobello Road area.

Its best-known feature is the Time Tunnel, a walk through the decades that arranges everyday goods in chronological order, from the Victorian era towards the present. Because the items are things people once threw away, they tell a different story from the usual grand exhibits: what a household kept in its cupboards, and how companies tried to win it over.

What to look for

• Follow the Time Tunnel in order and watch how logos, lettering and colours change from decade to decade.
• Look for familiar brands in their older packaging, then compare them with the versions on shop shelves today.
• Notice how wartime and post-war goods look and sound different from later ones, in the plainer designs and the wording of the slogans.
• Spot the toys, games and household items, which often bring back memories faster than any caption.

Tips for your visit

• Allow roughly an hour or two, more if you like reading every label and slogan.
• It is indoors, so it works well on a wet day or when you want a break from the Notting Hill crowds.
• Check current opening hours and entry details before you go, as they can change.
• Portobello Road and its market are a short walk away, so you can easily combine the museum with a wander through the neighbourhood.

See it on a quest

The museum is one stop on Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Notting Hill, London, a self-guided walk through the streets of Notting Hill with a crime-story theme. You reach the place on foot as part of a longer route, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot. You start whenever you like, with no guide and no group to join. A single ticket covers the whole group.